Being Careful

In our last entry we considered the importance of protection when men and women work together. We considered the influence of seeing each other as a family member and making a covenant with God as such. Doing this has a powerful effect on one’s behavior and thoughts. In this entry I want to consider another very important consideration and that is appearance. I want us to look at three examples.

The first one is found in Ruth 3:3 – 4, “Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” Naomi is taking great care to protect the character of both Ruth and Boaz. She doesn’t want anybody to know what Ruth is doing. Think of the gossip that would be generated if this man of valor and a woman that is respected by the community was seen coming together here at the threshing floor. Ruth and Boaz need privacy. No one else was to know what was taking place there, but we know nothing sensual was going on.

The second example is found in Ruth 3:13, “Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” Why does Boaz want her to remain there for the night? It is definitely not so he can have relations with her, but for her protection. If she were to leave during the night and someone were to see her on the streets they would assume she was acting as a prostitute or something else that was not good. If she stays until morning and leaves, and someone sees her on the streets, they would assume she was going to work. Appearance is very important.

The third example is myself. I have two “daughters” who want to talk with me about topics that are off limits at Mr. Mai’s. We go to a Chinese restaurant where they order and I pay the bill. We have arranged to leave Mr. Mai’s alone and meet at the restaurant away from Mr. Mai’s. The students know I am going to eat and then will catch the bus home. The women are simply leaving.

One evening at Mr. Mai’s one of the women didn’t come. I could have added another person, but I sensed that night that was not what I was to do. When it was time to leave I explained that I was going next door to eat and then was going home. I went to the restaurant and ordered, but I found that I was being led to order a small pizza which I never do. I placed the order and went to wash my hands. When I returned I found this woman that is normally in our group sitting at another table looking at a menu. I walked over to her and we talked for a minute and I realized she desperately wanted to talk to me in private. I invited her to my table and asked if she liked pizza. She said she did and that she would enjoy sharing mine. She ordered a salad to share with me. For the next two hours she asked questions about Christianity. That is what God had planned for us that evening, but he had to bring us together in a way that would not attract attention and in a place where we were not alone.

The lesson we learn here from Ruth is that we must take great care to protect the character of each other.